Construction on the $70 million hotel tower at uptown’s EpiCentre entertainment complex will begin in January and take about 15 months, developers said Thursday.

The 20-story hotel tower, announced earlier this month, will feature two Marriott brands: Residence Inn, with 120 rooms, and AC Hotel, with 182 contemporary-styled rooms geared toward millennials. The hotel will occupy a site where plans for a condo tower were scrapped in the economic downturn.

The hotel is a joint venture among Charlotte-based Vision Ventures and Mount Vernon Asset Management and McKibbon Hotel Management of Florida.

Vision Ventures and Mount Vernon Asset Management sold the EpiCentre at Trade and College streets earlier this year for $130.5 million to CIM Group, a Los Angeles firm that also owns the BB&T Center at 200 S. College St.

Vision Ventures and Mount Vernon Asset Management own the air rights to the hotel tower space. After they enter an anticipated agreement with McKibbon, the three will co-own the air rights.

Doug Stephan, principal of Vision Ventures, told members of the Charlotte Chamber’s Metro Chapter on Thursday that the developers will work to ensure construction does not disrupt EpiCentre businesses.

“That’s a very unique construction project for urban Charlotte,” he said. “The challenge is going to be building a new tower on top of already existing fully-tenanted building.”